Top 10 DH Villains with Justifiable Motives (ft Leopardmon)
by David Ishihara
Summary: Here's a list of the villains in the Dimensional Heroes series that may or may not jump into Well-Intentioned Extremist territory. This list will be narrated by the Royal Knights' loyal strategist himself, Leopardmon.


WARNING!

The following document contains personal opinions and may contain potential bias. Anyone sensitive to someone else's opinion may want to turn away now. But thanks for reading anyways!

Good idea, terrible execution.

This time around, we'll be counting down our picks for the Top 10 Villains in the Dimensional Heroes Series with Justifiable Motives. For this list, we'll be looking at the antagonists in this massive crossover series that were driven by understandable reasons, therefore convincingly blurring the line between good and evil due to just how sympathetic their endgame was. Whether they were right or wrong, at the very least, we can understand their perspective. In a different timeline, these antagonists could've been heroes. Please note that spoilers will be unavoidable for the included stories they're from. You have been warned. I am Leopardmon of the Royal Knights, and one who has played the villain in both Data Squad and Cyber Sleuth (the original version anyway), all for what I believed was the right thing by following the orders of my dear King Drasil. Therefore, I have some experience on this topic.

#10- Akemi Suedou- Cyber Sleuth

Better him than us, I'd say. After the Eaters appeared in the Digital World and capture Yuugo during an EDEN Beta Test gone awry, Suedou dedicated himself to researching the Eaters and creating a world devoid of sadness and sorrow. The main thing is that Suedou is an alignment of his own, wiping out the memories of everyone involved in the incident (including Sachiko's), going back and forth between allegiances for his own research, and even going as far as to take advantage of our attack on Tokyo to find a way to the Digital World and become its god by fusing with the Mother Eater that has already corrupted our dear King Drasil. It just goes to show how far people are willing to go for power. No wonder David had such a hate for the All Science Go Corporation when he found out they brainwashed us.

#9- Galeem- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

While the Super Smash Bros. series may not be known for its storytelling, at least the Dimensional Heroes series went out of its way to grant Galeem sentience, and therefore a personality. Seeing the worlds as mired in darkness, despair, and hatred, Galeem figured that he, or she, depending on whether gender you see Galeem as, is the only one capable of wiping out all of those negative aspirations and create a new universe filled with light. While the idea may seem like a good intention on paper, such intention included wiping out many of those worlds. And that was just the opening light show. It's hard to say whether or not those intentions were truly genuine, but at the very least, Galeem was at least civil about it.

#8- Stain- My Hero Academia Season 2

Improving society, one dead Pro Hero at a time. Garnering a reputation as a violent vigilante, Stain has detested the way that society has commercialized and cheapened the concept of a hero. In the villain's mind, All Might is the only one that embodies the altruistic and pure traits required to be accepted as a true hero and believes that everyone else is only interested in using their Quirks to gain power, fame or riches. Determined to eliminate fake heroes, Stain seems aware that his actions are undoubtedly wrong, however, the villain believes such measures are necessary for the greater good.

#7- Lusamine- Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon

In the original Sun and Moon, Lusamine was merely a researcher obsessed with the Ultra Beasts and sought to 'preserve the world's beauty' by freezing Pokemon in cryogenic storage. After her husband, Professor Mohn, disappeared while studying the Ultra Beasts, Lusamine became obsessed with the creatures and sought a way to Ultra Space in hopes of retrieving him, at the cost of her sanity. In Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, though, her motives start to diverge a little bit. The Lusamine of the Alternate Alola wanted to be the one to stop Necrozma from absorbing Alola's light, preventing it from escaping Ultra Megalopolis. While the remakes made her more sympathetic and, well, sane, due to having a new antagonist in Necrozma, it's still such a shame to see such a pleasant authority figure fall so far off the deep end.

#6- Captain Cold- Injustice 2

While Captain Cold has always been a villain, he did at least have his own standards. Unfortunately, being Injustice and all, those standards went right out the window when the Regime came calling. The reason why Captain Cold allied with Gorilla Grodd and his Society was to get revenge on the Regime for his sister and old crew after they were publicly executed. Grieving and bitter towards those outside his peers, we only have the fact that he formed the Reformed Society with fellow former Society members Cheetah and Poison Ivy to hold on to the hope that he can turn his grief into something better.

#5- Kane- Jump Force

Tragedy and sanity slippage tend to go hand in hand with this list, doesn't it? Kane was once a hero with a firm belief in justice, much like the rest of us. However, tragedy struck when one of his crusades led to the deaths of his family. Believing the world's justice system to be flawed, Kain sought to destroy the merged real world with parts of the Jump Worlds as retribution. It took Glover pulling a Face-Heel Turn and reveal as the true main antagonist Prometheus, for Kane to see the error of his ways.

#4- Superman- Injustice: Gods Among Us

The Man of Steel is supposed to be the pillar of peace and compassion. The producers in Netherrealm Studios thought otherwise, apparently. In an alternate dimension, Superman, also known as Clark Kent, is a global dictator and the leader of a tyrannical regime. Though he's undeniably in the wrong, it's easy to see how he slipped so far from the path of righteousness. He was tricked into killing his wife and unborn son by the maniacal Joker, who also blew up Metropolis with a nuclear bomb. These circumstances proved to be too much for Superman, leading him to kill the Joker and lose all sense of morality in the process. From there, he becomes dead set on forcefully trying to make a world without violence and crime, even though he himself initiates violence and crime. Like I said in the intro, good intentions, bad execution.

#3- Artorius Collbrande- Tales of Berseria

It goes to show that even the most altruistic of minds can fall to the depths of despair. After losing his wife and unborn child in the Scarlet Night years prior to the beginning of the story, Artorius went on a bit of a downward spiral and lost all sense of morality in the process. While a world of peace and reason without strife is something that a lot of heroes strive for, his means of doing so included amputating his own sister-in-law's arm, while sacrificing her younger brother, mind you, and trying to force the entire world to his will through Innominat. Even Velvet herself admitted that he would've been a true hero if the circumstances were different.

#2- Xemnas- Kingdom Hearts 2

The Leader of Organization XIII himself, otherwise known as Xehanort's Nobody. During Kingdom Hearts 2, Xemnas wanted to have the organization use Kingdom Hearts for their own personal gain. And what was this goal exactly? To see if Nobodies could gain hearts. Unfortunately, though, he only leans towards the more negative emotions than positive. This turns out to be his undoing, however, being defeated at the hands of Sora and Riku. Even after being revived for Kingdom Hearts 3, it took a battle to the death with Naomi for him to truly understand what it meant to have a heart.

#1- Centurion- Legend of Korra Season 3

Centurion was built up to be a dark reflection of David Ishihara, showing what he could've been if he had strayed down the wrong path. Centurion was originally an apprentice of the leader of the Olympos XII, Jupitermon. However, after seeing the how malevolent humans can be, trust me, some of us Royal Knights can relate, Centurion deems them unworthy of living, and sought to purge them alongside the Titans, in a similar vein to Zamasu from Dragon Ball Super. Much like a lot of the others on this list, Centurion is aware that his actions are undoubtedly wrong but sees that such actions are necessary for the greater good. Even David thought that it was a shame that he took this route, as he said it himself: "In another life, you could've been a hero." Especially since it's fairly easy to see just how their roles could've reversed.

Do you agree with our picks? Let us know in the reviews, and we'll see you in our next caper.


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